Five Will Die by Trace Conger

Author:Trace Conger [Conger, Trace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Mill Books

Chapter Twenty-Four

Back in Lincoln, Burke and Maren carried the evidence boxes into the Sheriff’s Office to find a dozen people standing in front of Corey’s desk, their lips moving as fast as the deputy’s pen. The group didn’t notice the two had entered, as they were so focused on getting their information from their mouths to Corey’s pad.

“It’s been like this all morning,” said Gavin, who stepped into the office behind Burke. “I’d say we’ve got a hundred tips.”

“What kind of tips?” asked Burke. “Anything helpful?”

“Oh, you know, the kind of tips that are just vague enough they could qualify for a cash reward if they lead to something.” He removed his notepad from his back pocket and flipped it open. “Emily Fish says she saw Paul Hoffman standing in front of the King Kwik the day before Joyce was murdered. Thought he might be casing the place. Angela Kovacich says Roger Pratt was in Hader Hardware looking at hunting knives last week. She’s not sure if he actually bought one, but just the fact he was looking at them makes him a key suspect in Joyce’s slaying, at least in her opinion. Oh, and Amanda Sheets wants us to look at her husband, Gary, for both murders. She has no evidence he’s our guy other than, and I quote, ‘He seems like the type to do it,’ end quote. And the list goes on and on.”

“What about the tip line? Anything from there?”

“Not really. Everyone wants to give their account in person. Wants to make sure we knew who they are so they can get that cash you mentioned yesterday. Hell, I had one person tell me I should investigate Amanda Marie. Said she looked guilty on account of all those tattoos. I didn’t tell her we were dating. And I left that one out of the official record.”

Maren slapped Burke on the shoulder. “Looks like you created a monster out of that reward money, Sheriff.”

“Looks like it.” They set the evidence boxes on his desk. “Gavin, when Corey gets done with the latest batch of questioning, get with him and compare notes. Write up a list of names and quality leads and then compare them with one another. As far-fetched as some of these sound, there might be something in there that’s actually helpful.”

“Will do. How was Bradford?”

“We’ve got the case files and a few leads to follow up on. Our killer took out five people three years ago and then vanished.”

“You sure it’s the same guy?”

“Pretty sure. He left a note identical to the one we received. Looks like all the vics were killed from behind. One was strangled.”

“Strangled? That’s odd.” He turned to Maren. “Isn’t it?”

“Hard to say,” said Maren. “There have been several serial murderers who preferred strangulation, although those cases usually had some sexual component to them. It could be as simple as our guy forgetting his coveralls and not wanting to risk getting blood on his clothes. Or maybe he just wanted that victim to suffer for some reason.

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